Subway, which occupied the northwest corner of Drayton and Broughton streets, closed several weeks ago. It predated a number of other chains that opened nearby, including multiple sub shops.

Quiznos, at the southwest corner of Abercorn and Broughton streets, has also closed.

There are more than 4,000 Quiznos in the United States, but once there were even more. The recession combined with other issues to bring on hard times for the 30-year-old chain.

What do these closures say about the current state of Broughton Street?

Nothing good. Chains should for a variety of reasons be pretty well-insulated from cyclical downturns.

We’re now more than two years into an economic recovery, but consumer spending remains well below its long-term trend line.

The downtown office sector took a hard hit during the recession and has largely stagnated since.

The number of downtown residents has also declined. Even though SCAD has continued to grow, the population of students who live downtown seems to have dwindled in recent years as rents have increased and the college has created more of its own housing.

The lack of demand is also evident in the numerous empty commercial spaces with full kitchens.

I’m especially concerned about the negative effects of empty corners such as the spaces Subway and Quiznos have vacated.

Corners are meeting places. Corners offer choices to pedestrians and drivers. A well-anchored corner invites a change of direction and creates deeper connections between streets.

There is definitely good news regarding a few of those empty restaurant spaces, and some other general good news in the downtown restaurant scene.

I have yet to eat at the newly expanded Saigon, but I’ve enjoyed many flavorful, reasonably-priced meals there over the years. The Saigon dining room now includes the northwest corner of Bull and Broughton streets.

I also have yet to try Henry’s, a popular new breakfast and lunch spot at 28 Drayton St., but I’ve heard good words about it.

In a recent column, I wrote about positive experiences at Taco Abajo at 217 ½ W. Broughton St. and SubDogs HotDoggery at 5 W. Broughton St.

I recently had an excellent hibachi steak at Super Bowl, which took over an empty restaurant space at 16 W. State St.

The Super Bowl interior is bright and comfortable. The menu includes noodles, stir fry and sushi. Service is fast.

World of Beer is slated for 112 W. Broughton St.

There has been a strangely long delay since last year’s permit approvals, but it looks like McDonalds will eventually move into the blighted northeast corner of Jefferson and Broughton streets.

Exciting plans are in the works for the space last occupied by 606 at the southwest corner of Congress Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

Ditto for the storefront last occupied by Charlotte’s Corner at Bull and Liberty streets.

Still, despite all those positive developments that translate into jobs and commerce, there are still at least eight spots with commercial kitchens sitting idle at the moment, with no announced plans.

Broughton Street would obviously benefit from some fresh attention.

Looking optimistically beyond Tuesday’s vote

So we’ll be going to the polls this week.

Presumably, the mayoral race will end up in a runoff, but we’ll still know the city’s new leadership team by the end of the month.

Even if it turns out to be a good election for incumbents, we’ll nevertheless have a new mayor and at least three new aldermen, including two in citywide at-large seats.

That almost certainly guarantees significant changes in tone, in policy and in effectiveness. Let’s hope those changes will be for the better.

And let’s hope that the many disappointed voters — and there will be a lot of them — are able to leave bitterness behind.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve outlined some of the big challenges I see, including the funding and site selection for voter-mandated SPLOST projects, especially the arena; quality of life issues like blight, traffic, and crime; and ongoing population loss in the city’s core neighborhoods.

While I’m obviously concerned about substantive issues like those, I hope we’ll also end up with a council that seems to be looking ahead with some real optimism.

For many of us, Savannah is a fun and exciting place to live. We need leaders — both elected and appointed — who encourage others to share that joy.

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In the past few years there have been several sandwich-oriented shops plunked into close proximity of each other. The only surprising thing would be if they all were able to stay open indefinitely. And, how much are we going to miss two of them, when we can walk across the street or around the corner and down the block for a similar food offering?

And, to the extent a restaurant is trying to get a share of tourists' spending, it seems unlikey visitors will be attracted to a virtual clone of the menu and decor they had last week in Omaha or Buffalo or Peoria.